Garment hanger



June 5, 1923, 1,458,134

J. SOMMER GARMENT HANGER Filed Aug. 9, 1919 I d TTORIVEV.

Patented June 5,

meant rat,

:TOHN L. SOMMER, F NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

GARMENT HANGER.

Application filed August 9, 1919.

To all whom c't may concern.-

Be it known that I, Join: L. SoMMnn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented new and useful Improvements I Hangers, of which the following is a specification.

The objects of this invention are to provide an improved collapsible coat and trouser hanger which can be compactly folded to occupy a small amount of space and which when folded will be substantially flat so as to be easily packed in baggage vor carried; to secure such a hanger which will positively hold trousers, a folded skirt or the like, as well as a coat, vest or the like, so that slipping or falling of the trousers or skirt from the hanger is prevented; to secure in such a hanger a disposition of the trousers clamping arms in the same plane with the rest of the parts of the hanger; and to obtain other advantages and results as may be brought out in the following description.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, in which like numerals of reference inclicate the same parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is side view of my lmproved garment hanger open or extended to receive garments;

Figure 2 is a similar view of the same part-1y closed or collapsed;

Figure 3 is a view of the hanger completely collapsed; Y

Figure 4 is a crosssection on line 474, Fig. 8, and

Figure 5 is a longitudinal central section of the telescoping ends of the horizontal bar sections.

In the specific embodiment of the invention shown in said drawings, 1 indicates a flattened hook by which the hanger is adapted to be suspended, and to opposite sides of the lower end of the shank of said hook are pivoted, as by a rivet 2, the arms 3, (1 which normally extend laterally outward IEIOlIllJllG opposite edges of the flattened shank of the hook and curve downwardly in any suit-able form to hold the shoulders of a coat or similar garment in proper shape, as shown in Figure 1. It will be understood that these arms .3, 4 can be bent into various shapes as desired to suit different garments or different styles in Garment.

Serial No. 316,307.

of garments, all as is well-known and common in the art.

The said hook 1 and arms all lie in a single plane and the lower ends of the arms 3 and 4 are preferably bent inward toward each other in the said plane of the arms and hook, as at 5, 6, and to these ends 5, 6 arepivoted, by suitable pivot members such as the rivets 7, the ends of sections 8, 9 of a connecting and supplemental garment supporting bar. These pivotal connections are such that the sections 8, 9 swing in or substantially in the plane of swinging of the arms 3, 4;. Each of these connecting bar sections 8, 9 preferably formed in one piece of spring material which is returned or bent upon itself to form spring clamping arms 10, 11 between which and the body portion of the sections 8, 9 is adapted to be clamped and supported trousers, a skirt or the like. The loops 12, 13 which are formed when the bar sections 8, 9 are returned upon themselves are enlarged to increase the spring action of the clamping arms 10, 11, and the inwardly bent ends 5, 6 .of the arms 3,, 4 are pivoted to these loops. It will be noted that said inwardly bent ends are pivoted to the doubled bar sections each at its point of doubling, and thus the trousers clamps extend clear to said point of doubling and are not shortened by the pivoting of the arms 3, at to the doubled bar sections. This gives the trousers clamps maximum length and resiliency, and especially so since the pivots are transverse to the plane in which said arms spring. Furthermore, the bar sections 8, 9 are doubled in the plane of the supporting arms 8, 4: and their doubled ends are pivoted. flatwise against the inwardly bent ends 5, 6,, which are flattened for the purpose, as shown. The loops 12, 13 are by the inwardly bent ends 5 and 6 of the supporting arms 3 and 4E spaced from said supporting arms so that the bar sections may swing freely in the plane of said supporting arms, as clearly shown in the drawings.

The free ends of the clamping arms 10, 1,1 are deflected upwardly as at 14;, 15 so as to facilitate in slipping the garment under the arms, while the free ends of the body portions of the connecting bars 8 and 9 are adapted one to telescopically receive the other, as by a socket 1.6, and the said sections 8, 9 are of such length that when garment supporting .In applying clearly shown in Figure lying between sections 8, 9.

said free ends abut,the arms 3, t are held in proper position and cannot swing any further downward. The horizontal bar made up of the sections 8, 9 and connecting the lower ends of the said arms 3, a is also rigid by reason of the telescopic connection of its sections and affords effective support for trousers, skirts and so forth.

trousers or a skirt to the horizontal bar the opposite side edges of the garment are slipped under the clamping arms 10, 11 beneath the deflected ends 14:, 15 thereof and draped over the horizontal bar on both sides thereof. The clamping arms 10, 11 serve to positively hold the trousers or skirt upon the horizontal bar, and maintain them in a smooth and perfect condition. It will be noted that the returned ends of the transverse bar which form the clamp ing arms 10 and 11 are directly above the said transverse bar, so as to not only lie in substantially the same plane with the rest of the parts of the hanger and secure a flat compact folding, as shown in Figures 3 and 4., but also ensure that the trousers or other garment bends over the transverse bar and is positively supported thereby.

This horizontal rod or connecting bar may of course be shaped in any suitable and well-known form which will permit its sections to be pivoted at their outer ends and releasably connected at their inner ends as I have described, and I do not confine myself to the perfectly straight form shown in the drawings.

'Io collapse or closemy improved hanger, the sections, 8, 9 of the horizontal bar are first drawn apart, keeping them substantially in alinement, until their free ends cleareach other as shown in Figure 2. In doing this the lower ends of the arms 3, 4: of course separate and their upper ends pivoted to the hook 1 move downward nearer to the horizontal bar, this action being also 2. When the horizontal bar sections 8, 9 are clear of each other, they are swung toward the arms 3, 4-. respectively and then said arms swung downward together, as shown in Figure 3, and the hook 1 swung half way around into reversed'd-ownwardly extending position and the arm 3 and the arm 1 and The flat structure of the hook 1 enables this to be readily done, and the entire hangerto fold very compactly together.

I prefer to make the arms and horizontal bar sections of my improved garment hanger of wire, as shown, the ends being suitably flattened for pivoting purposes, and the socket 16 being provided by slipping a piece of tubing over the end of one of the arms as 9 to receive the end of the other arm. However, it will be understood that my hanger can be made of any suitable mate- .supporting arms each rial and the parts modified in detail in various ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, I do not wish to restrict myself to the telescopic or socket connection of the bar sections, which I have particularly shown and described for purposes of illustration, as it will be seen by those skilled in the art that other forms of connection can be employed to effect the same results.

Having thus described the invention, I claim is:

1. In a folding garment hanger, the combination of a suspending member, garment comprising a rod pivwhat otally connected to said suspending member so as to swing in a plane common to said arms and suspending member and having a lower end portion bent laterally inward in said plane, doubled bar sections in said plane each having its doubled end pivoted to one of said inwardly bent end portions of the supporting arms and spaced from the adjacent supporting arm so as to swing freely in the same plane therewith, said doubled bar sections having two of their arms adapted toform a transverse brace and the other two forming trousers clamps, and

means for separably holding the free ends of said brace arms in alinement to maintain the garment supporting arms in extended position. v

2. In a folding garment hanger, the combination of a suspending member, garment supporting arms each comprising a rod pivotally connected to said suspending member so as to swing in a plane common to said arms and suspending member and having a lower end portion bent laterally inward in said plane, bar sections doubled in said plane each section having its doubled end. pivoted fiatwise against one of said inwardly bent end portions of the supporting arms and spaced from the adjacent supporting arm so as to swing freely in the same plane therewith, said doubled bar sectionslower end portion bent laterally inward in I said plane, bar sections doubled in said plane each comprising a length of material returned upon itself toform two arms and having a laterally enlargedloop at its doubled end in the plane of said arms and pivoted at said loop to the said inwardly that the section may swing freely in the bent end portion of one of the garment supporting arms with the laterally enlarged loop projecting toward the adjacent garment supporting arm and spaced therefrom so form a transverse brace and the other tWo forming trousers clamps, and means for separably holding the free ends of said brace 10 arms in alinement to maintain the garment supporting arms in extended position. same plane therewith, said doubled bar sections having two of their arms adapted to JOHN L. SOMMER. 

